Cinnamomum burmanii is one of Indonesian native plants which has been known empirically for its potency as medicament. Cinnamomum burmanii is commonly referred to as cinnamon. Cinnamon-based products have been marketed for some time now as food supplement and indicated to treat various diseases. However, despite its therapeutic effect, it has been known recently that most of cinnamon products extracted from cinnamon plants contain high level of coumarin.
Coumarin is a natural benzopyron compound present in several plants including cinnamon, tonka beans, vanili and Cuscuta reflexa (a medicinal herb). It has been widely known and used since 1882 as one of the components in production of perfume. For medicinal usage, coumarin is a precursor in production of anticoagulant. However, coumarin can become toxic to liver especially after long-term use.
European Safety Authority (ESA) recommends a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of coumarin as 0.1 mg coumarin per kilogram body weight which can be ingested daily over a lifetime without posing a risk to health.
To date, there is no Cinnamomum burmanii extract currently available in the market which has low level of coumarin. People usually use alternative source of cinnamon including Cinnamomum zeylanicum since its coumarin level is low and considered as safe. However, Cinnamomum zeylanicum is more expensive, thus it is not economical for large industrial application. Consequently, there is a need to develop an extract of Cinnamomum burmanii which has substantially coumarin-free. The present invention taught a production process of Cinnamomum burmanii extract which is substantially free of coumarin so it can be consumed safely for a long-term use.